Stars gather for concert in tribute to Joni Mitchell

In 2000, Elton John appeared at a Joni Mitchell tribute concert at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York. Mitchell sang briefly at the end of the evening, but for most of the night she sat in a balcony, watching John and other performers, like k.d. lang and Diana Krall.

"I've played before the queen of England. It's not so intimidating," John said, humbled by Mitchell's status as one of her generation's consummate singer-songwriters.

On Wednesday at Carnegie Hall, more than 20 other artists will get to experience that feeling, too, as the New York-based music-education organization, the Music for Youth Foundation, presents a benefit concert comprised of Mitchell covers.

Mitchell is planning to attend, Music for Youth Foundation executive director Jon Marcus said. But she isn't scheduled to perform.

She could, "should the spirit move her," Marcus said. "But we're not expecting that."

Judy Collins, who had a Top Ten hit with a cover of Mitchell's "Both Sides Now" in 1968 and has recorded other Mitchell songs ("Chelsea Morning," "Michael From Mountains"), is on the bill. So are prominent singer-songwriters like Tracy Chapman, Suzanne Vega, Marc Cohn and Shawn Colvin, and representatives from the worlds of salsa (La India), classic soul (Bettye LaVette), classic pop (Neil Sedaka), modern R&B (Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child), the avant-garde (Laurie Anderson), alt-rock (Eels), jazz (Jimmy Scott), Brazilian music (Bebel Gilberto) and Native American music (Joanne Shenandoah).

"We were going for eclectic, obviously, and also we wanted to keep the production uncluttered," Marcus said. "The idea was not to bring in artists who need large backup. Carnegie Hall is a great place, but doing set changes is not as easy as it might be somewhere like Madison Square Garden."

Other participants will include Dar Williams, Meshell Ndegeocello, Amy Grant, the Cowboy Junkies, Joan Osborne, Keren Ann, Pharoah's Daughter and the Wood Brothers, featuring Chris Wood of Medeski, Martin & Wood. Each act will be allotted just one song.

The youngest performer will be Sonya Kitchell, 16, a jazz-influenced singer-songwriter who will tackle "Trouble Child" backed by the jam band Assembly of Dust.

"I chose that one because 'River' was taken," Kitchell said. (Eels will be performing "River.") "It's a fun song, and it's one of her more soulful songs, and I wanted something I could really dig into.

"Joni Mitchell is one of my idols. There aren't that many artists that are my favorites: it's like Joni Mitchell and the Beatles. I'm hoping that someday I write as much good music, and have as interesting a career, and change as much."

Though initially known for gentle, folk-influenced music, Mitchell went on to explore pop, rock and jazz. In the mid-'70s, after scoring some of her biggest hits ("Help Me," "Free Man in Paris"), she made some of her most experimental music. Her last collection of new songs was "Taming the Tiger" (1998). She has not toured since 2000.

The Music for Youth Foundation, formed about 10 years ago by members of the music industry, supports innovative music-education programs and gives scholarships to young musicians.

Wednesday's show may be the first of many tribute/benefits the foundation presents.

"We're actually thinking about making this a franchise for us, and doing it maybe twice a year on this level, as well as additional (smaller) musical events," Marcus said.